A large-scale protest is due to take place in Hartcliffe on Saturday morning, with residents fury mounting over the closure of the council’s rent office in the middle of the area.

The council’s ‘customer service point’ within the Symes House building was closed at the end of March, and local residents say it has badly affected many people – especially those without access to the internet.

The Bristol and District Anti-Cuts Alliance has organised the protest, which is due to take place outside Symes House at 11am on Saturday, June 3 calling for the office to be reopened.

The office was one of four Citizen Service Points across Bristol that closed as part of the round of budget cuts that mean the city council has to save more than £100 million over the next four years.

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Offices in Hartcliffe, Lawrence Weston, Southmead and Fishponds closed, with tenants and local residents asked to either use the council’s website or phone line to contact the council, pay rent online or at the Post Office.

Anyone needing a face-to-face meeting with council staff now has to travel to the council offices at 100 Temple Street, next to Temple Meads station.

However, residents in Hartcliffe say the area has one of the lowest levels of internet access in the country and people paying their rent at the Post Office often end up with warning notices because it takes five days to clear each week.

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Labour candidate Karin Smyth said when she was MP before the general election was called, she twice asked the council to postpone closing the office in Hartcliffe until alternatives were found.

Kerry Bailes and John Langley outside the closed down Symes House

“One woman told of how she been forced to pay more than £20 more a month for the internet in order to pay her council rent,” said a spokesman for BADACA, after a meeting earlier this month to discuss the impact of the closure.

“A carer for a disabled man told how the closure had forced him to regularly take a long and difficult journey to the one remaining rent office in Temple Street.

"Residents also complained that Hartcliffe seemed to be an area forgotten about by the council and that its remaining community facilities were under threat, with most of the youth clubs and other services established in the wake of the 1992 riots having already been cut,” he added.

The notice outside Symes House where people go to pay their rent

A spokesman for Bristol City Council said there were a large number of alternatives, including the ability for people to pay their rent in cash at the Post Office just a few yards from Symes House.

“The recent changes to Citizen Services were introduced following weeks of work by staff to inform local people of the options available to continue accessing the services they need,” he said.

“We recognise that whilst this effort has helped many to begin using alternatives such as our online services available on mobile and tablet, some people wish to continue paying for services with cash. Anyone wanting to pay rent or council tax in cash can do so in their community by visiting a local Post Office or PayPoint location,” he added.